NN Group announced the first half results of 2016. Group’s operating result from ongoing business stand at 321 million EUR, with a net result of 335 million EUR. Solvency II ratio increased to 252 percent from 241 percent at the first quarter of 2016. Group distributed an interim dividend of approximately 195 million EUR.
Lard Friese, CEO and Chairman of NN Group, stated: “Our businesses were impacted by market conditions and low interest rates, reducing the investment income of our insurance businesses. The asset management environment remains difficult due to ongoing market turmoil.  NN Group´s strong financial position in the first half of 2016 reflects the resilience of its businesses in an environment which continues to be characterized by low interest rates and market volatility.”
Amidst these challenging conditions, we have witnessed positive developments in our different business processes. New sales of our life insurance products held up well compared with the same quarter last year. The execution of our cost saving plans is well underway, and we continue to improve ourselves while working towards reaching our strategic targets. In the second quarter of 2016, NN Group became a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series. This inclusion demonstrates that the company has met stringent environmental, social and governance criteria, and is well positioned to capitalize on the benefits of responsible business practice.
In accordance with changing market and customer requirements, we keep renewing customer experience and improving our products. The fundamental need of people to protect themselves against uncertainties will continue to drive growth in the insurance industry over the long term.
Going forward, we will continue to focus on the execution of our strategy, which is delivering excellent service to our customers, making our operations more efficient and effective, and becoming a company that touches the lives of all our stakeholders.”
Frank Eijsink, CEO of NN Hayat ve Emeklilik stated his satisfaction concerning the performance of their operations in Turkey, adding as follows:
“We are in this market since the Individual Pension System was founded in Turkey; and we continue to gain strength in Turkey as NN Hayat ve Emeklilik. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, our life insurance premiums were standing at 27.3 million TL which rose up to 56.4 million TL at the end of the second quarter, up by 7 percent. Pension fund size of our participants grew by 11 percent compared to the end of 2015, reaching 2.14 billion TL. Our main target is to be in long-term cooperation with our customers, and offer them products and services that will secure their future. To that end, we closely monitor consumer requirements and market developments, and we take necessary steps. Our preparations are in progress for Automatic Participation which will become effective as of January 2017. As in every project, we will continue saying ‘You Matter’ for Automatic Participation as well, and offering products and services that will create added value for our customers and business partners. We will provide our customers the most excellent customer experience with simple, rapid and reliable processes that will stand by our customers at all times driven by the global experience and expertise of NN Group.”